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Jack Hunting
Introduction Jack Hunting is just your typical teenage farmboy, growing up in Kansas. Oh, except for the fact that he can manipulate gravity.... Background While Jack's mother, Althea, was pregnant with him, she wandered over to see her neighbor, the reclusive "Man of Science" (with a capital 'S') Doctor Dunkirk. As usual, the Doc was working on something-or-other, and about brushed the woman off, until he saw that she had brought a homebaked pie with her. And well, being the shut-in he was, the good Doctor wasn't about to turn down such an offer. Without further thought, he admitted Althea into his laboratory and went off to fetch some forks so they could share a meal and some friendly chatter. Despite Doc's warning about not wandering, Althea found herself fascinated with all the gadgets and devices within the structure; it was with little suprise that she found herself standing in the midst of one when the Doctor returned.... Now, to be fair, the device had activated itself. Althea was fascinated with all the lights and sounds that were being generated, but the good Doctor, flabbergasted, dropped the forks on the floor and ran over to cut power to the machine. The device, at that point creatively called 'The Activator' was a project Doc had been working on, which, as he put it, "Changes people who are already different..." Though he likely had his suspicions, Doc assured Althea that her baby would be unharmed. Jackson Feynman Hunting was born perfectly healthy on March 4th, 1993 into a caring family that continued to grow. Jack himself was fascinated with science, and spent alot of his free time (which was few and far between given his duties around the farm) with Doc Dunkirk. Everything was the picture of country serenity. One evening much later, Jack's younger sister Dorie had a horrible nightmare, one that involved her father and brothers getting flattened underneath a truck thrown by a tornado. Although the next day she seemed fine, she had no memory of the dream when questioned. Later that week, the dream had been all but forgotten by the family, and sure enough, that's when the storms came. William and Robert, Jack's older brothers, had gone out earlier that day to work on some fencing. Jack's father was going to check on them when Dorrie grabbed him, pleading with him to stay, recalling her dream like deja vu. She only relented when Jack agreed to join his father, and keep him safe from any flying tractor-trailers. It wasn't an hour later the twister ripped through the area, and headed down the highway. Althea and the other kids were locked up tight in the cellar, but as soon as it was clear Althea set out to find out what happened to the rest of her family. A short time later, her husband's old pickup came rambling down the road, with Robert and William jumping out of the bed and Mr. Hunting circling to open the sidedoor, wherein lied a barely-consious Jack. He didn't look to be seriously injured, but when Althea inquired as to her son's health, the answer she got was more then she had counted on.... Read Jack's origin story HERE. Personality and Appearance Jack is about as normal as you can get for a farm-raised Kansas boy: Easy smile and casual bearing. Jack is more comfortable in jeans than a school uniform, but puts up with it. Powers and Abilities Jacks basic powers come from a mutant gene which causes his body to conduct and store gravitic energy like a battery, increasing or decreasing his density at will. At the onset, Jack has no control of this power and risks implosion as he uncontrollably absorbs the gravity around him; becoming dense enough to form a singularity. With aid from his family friend and mentor Professor Thaddeus Dunkirk (Doc), Jack now wears a suit of advanced conductive material that allows his body to shunt the extra energy harmlessly or channel it into powerful effects. His control is assisted by an artificial intelligence (AI) named Ghost Rabbit that Doc embedded into the suit's interface. This AI has super-user control over Jack's access to his powers and will not allow him to push those powers beyond limits established by the Professor or Jack's current Dean of Students. ((For sanity's sake, Jack's normal rate of absorption isn't enough to cause a catastrophic accident for at least an hour. Unless he exerts himself, is frightened, or placed in a higher-than normal gravity field, he can remove the suit to bathe or receive medical attention.)) Weaknesses Adventures Alternate Universes Trivia -Home-schooled piece-meal by a traditionalist mother and a super-genius neighbor. -Deep interest in physical sciences and a basic understanding of quantum physics (owed to hanging around Professor Dunkirk). -Animal Husbandry.. Hey. You never know when someone's going to need to birth a calf, right? Notes Jacks control-suit consists of: -A thick-layer, skin-tight bodysuit of super-durable material patented by Prof. Dunkirk. -Over-sized boots and gloves that serve as both protective armor for Jack and conduits for the destructive levels of gravity his power produces. -A helmet with advanced optics and interface that allows the controlling AI to display data graphically. With the helmet on, Jack can literally see gravity as his powers affect it. No code-name exists for the suit itself. For all intents and purposes, the suit and AI are one. Ghost Rabbit is a low-thought (not-self-aware) AI that performs vital calculations and evaluates the levels of gravity around Jack and the potential for damage to himself. A direct neural interface exists between Jack and the suit via conduction panels along its spine. Jack was sponsored into the ACADEMY by Doc Dunkirk, who's design for Jack's suit he modified to work with other people, doubling as body armor and something amazingly flexible that could be keyed to a persons genetic makeup. The patent for this technology, along with a friendship and professional relationship between Doc and Dean Henderson, secured his entrance. Read more HERE. Category:Characters